Benjamin Netanyahu said he would support the creation of a demilitarised Palestinian
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has said he would support the creation of a Palestinian state, but only if it was barred from having an army.
In a landmark move, he endorsed a separate state for the first time but said it must have no military, no control of its air space and no way of smuggling in weapons.
The speech, given in response to US President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim in Cairo world last month, also called on the Palestinians to recognise the right of Israel to exist.
The speech, given in response to US President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim in Cairo world last month, also called on the Palestinians to recognise the right of Israel to exist.
Related Articles
Obama welcomes Netanyahu speech
Benjamin Netanyahu: full speech on Palestinian state
Generation Z: Israel's counter revolutionaries
Benjamin Netanyahu accepts Palestinian 'state'
Palestinians reject Benjamin Netanyahu speech
Israeli right-wingers 'will topple' Benjamin Netanyahu if he backs Palestinian state
"If we receive this guarantee for demilitarisation and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation of the Jewish people, we will be prepared for a true peace agreement (and) to reach a solution of a demilitarised Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state," he said.
"Each will have its flag, each will have its anthem. The Palestinian territory will be without arms, will not control airspace, will not be able to have arms enter."
Until now Mr Netanyahu, who leads the Right-wing Likud party, had refused to accept anything more than a vague notion of Palestinian autonomy.
But Mr Obama has made it clear he views a two-state solution as the only solution to the conflict and Mr Netanyahu has been balancing pressure from Washington with placating a ruling coalition dependent on hardliners.
Mr Netanyahu refused to give in to another key American demand to freeze all construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank where Palestinians hope to build a future state.
Instead, he retained his position that existing settlements should be allowed to grow "naturally" along with their population but without confiscating any Palestinian land to do so.
"We have no intention to build new settlements and to expropriate land for new settlements," Mr Netanyahu said at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv.
"But there is a need to allow settlers to lead normal lives, to allow mothers and fathers to raise their children like all families around the world."
Palestinian leaders reacted angrily to the speech, including a call that refugees from the 1948 Mideast war in which Israel was created, should be settled outside of the country's borders.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian Authority official, said: "He spoke of a Palestinian state while emptying it of any substance by excluding a stop to settlements."
Negotiator Saeb Erekat said: "The peace process has been moving at the speed of a tortoise. Tonight, Netanyahu has flipped it over on its back."
There had been intense speculation over the wording of the speech since it was announced after Mr Obama's Cairo address.
It comes at a time of increasing friction between his government and Washington and it has been clear that one of the goals of this address was to help assuage concerns in the White House that he would an inflexible hardliner when it came to talking peace with the Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu had a tense relationship with the Clinton White House when he was Israeli prime minister in the 1990s, an experience his confidantes say he does not want to repeat.
Seemingly borrowing from Mr Obama's own language of reconciliation and outreach to the Arab world, he called on the region's leaders to meet and do their part to assist in the growth of the Palestinian economy.
"I am prepared to meet with you anytime, anywhere – in Damascus and Beirut and in Jerusalem too," Mr Netanyahu said.
Dealing head-on with the Palestinian issue was not Mr Netanyahu's intention when he entered office less than two months ago.
A long-time advocate of getting tough with Iran and moving to aggressively halt its nuclear plans, aides have hinted he was taken aback by Mr Obama's insistence that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not be sidelined while a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue was pursued.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory during elections over the weekend seemed to give Mr Netanyahu extra fuel in his quest to put the Iranian issue at the forefront.
He began his speech by saying: "The Iranian threat is still confronting us and as we saw yesterday it's still there with full intensity, the greatest threat facing the entire Middle East."
Obama welcomes Netanyahu speech
Benjamin Netanyahu: full speech on Palestinian state
Generation Z: Israel's counter revolutionaries
Benjamin Netanyahu accepts Palestinian 'state'
Palestinians reject Benjamin Netanyahu speech
Israeli right-wingers 'will topple' Benjamin Netanyahu if he backs Palestinian state
"If we receive this guarantee for demilitarisation and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation of the Jewish people, we will be prepared for a true peace agreement (and) to reach a solution of a demilitarised Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state," he said.
"Each will have its flag, each will have its anthem. The Palestinian territory will be without arms, will not control airspace, will not be able to have arms enter."
Until now Mr Netanyahu, who leads the Right-wing Likud party, had refused to accept anything more than a vague notion of Palestinian autonomy.
But Mr Obama has made it clear he views a two-state solution as the only solution to the conflict and Mr Netanyahu has been balancing pressure from Washington with placating a ruling coalition dependent on hardliners.
Mr Netanyahu refused to give in to another key American demand to freeze all construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank where Palestinians hope to build a future state.
Instead, he retained his position that existing settlements should be allowed to grow "naturally" along with their population but without confiscating any Palestinian land to do so.
"We have no intention to build new settlements and to expropriate land for new settlements," Mr Netanyahu said at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv.
"But there is a need to allow settlers to lead normal lives, to allow mothers and fathers to raise their children like all families around the world."
Palestinian leaders reacted angrily to the speech, including a call that refugees from the 1948 Mideast war in which Israel was created, should be settled outside of the country's borders.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian Authority official, said: "He spoke of a Palestinian state while emptying it of any substance by excluding a stop to settlements."
Negotiator Saeb Erekat said: "The peace process has been moving at the speed of a tortoise. Tonight, Netanyahu has flipped it over on its back."
There had been intense speculation over the wording of the speech since it was announced after Mr Obama's Cairo address.
It comes at a time of increasing friction between his government and Washington and it has been clear that one of the goals of this address was to help assuage concerns in the White House that he would an inflexible hardliner when it came to talking peace with the Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu had a tense relationship with the Clinton White House when he was Israeli prime minister in the 1990s, an experience his confidantes say he does not want to repeat.
Seemingly borrowing from Mr Obama's own language of reconciliation and outreach to the Arab world, he called on the region's leaders to meet and do their part to assist in the growth of the Palestinian economy.
"I am prepared to meet with you anytime, anywhere – in Damascus and Beirut and in Jerusalem too," Mr Netanyahu said.
Dealing head-on with the Palestinian issue was not Mr Netanyahu's intention when he entered office less than two months ago.
A long-time advocate of getting tough with Iran and moving to aggressively halt its nuclear plans, aides have hinted he was taken aback by Mr Obama's insistence that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not be sidelined while a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue was pursued.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory during elections over the weekend seemed to give Mr Netanyahu extra fuel in his quest to put the Iranian issue at the forefront.
He began his speech by saying: "The Iranian threat is still confronting us and as we saw yesterday it's still there with full intensity, the greatest threat facing the entire Middle East."
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment